My Pink Healer
by SunnyMagicKingdom
Summary: "We will meet again in the future, right?" It had been 10 years since Sakura watched her childhood friend leave their peaceful hometown for the big city. Holding onto the memories they shared, Sakura hoped to see him once again. And when she moved to Tokyo for university, she met the person she had been missing for the longest of time. Difference was, Sasuke Uchiha had changed.
1. Unexpected Reunion

Author's Note: Hello, everyone! Yes, I am here with my fifth Sasuke/Sakura fanfic. I know I should be updating my other unfinished stories but I my urge to start this story went out of control. But for those who follow my other fanfics, I promise I will update the other stories as soon as possible! Without further ado, please proceed to the first chapter of My Pink Healer.

P.S. The words in Italic are the thoughts of the characters. Just a clarification to avoid confusion! Also, ratings might change in the future, depending on the flow of the story. Just a gentle warning!

Chapter 1: Unexpected Reunion

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

" _We will meet again in the future, right?"_

My mind would often wander to that faithful day ten years ago, when my childhood best friend left our hometown for Tokyo. His parents decided to move to the big city to start up their own business, bringing along two of their sons.

My best friend and I were eight years old back then and I remembered crying very badly as I held onto his hand tightly. He was quiet, as always, but I remember him thanking me as he let go of my hand. And before he was completely out of sight, I saw him turned around for one last time.

And it was then that I saw Sasuke Uchiha smiled for the first time.

We exchanged letters once in a while after he left. Sasuke would write about the buzzing big city and his new life while I would tell him about the people back at home. Every day after school, I would skip on my way back home and hoped that a letter from Sasuke had arrived in the mailbox.

But after two years, the letters stopped coming and I no longer hear anything from Sasuke anymore.

I was sad, angry, heartbroken and perhaps a mixture of all of them. He just suddenly cut all ties with me, making me feel like I was of no importance to him anymore. I continued sending letters to him despite never receiving any replies anymore. I remained hopeful that one day, when I opened the mailbox, a letter from Sasuke would be inside.

But that never happened and all that was left was an empty feeling inside.

Life went on, of course, and in a blink of an eye, I was already eighteen years old and ready to set off for the big city myself. My parents and I were extremely delightful when I received an acceptance letter from the medical school of the best university in Tokyo.

Leaving home for the first time was difficult and seeing my parents cry weren't making things easier. But I had Ino with me, who got into the same university as well.

Ino Yamanaka and her family moved into our town a few weeks after Sasuke left. We hit it off way too easily and became best friends soon after. We had arguments and occasional fights but that was just the way we communicate I guessed.

And before we knew it, we arrived at the front gate of the university.

"This is for real, isn't it?" I spoke under my breath in disbelief as I stared at the building in front of me. I heard Ino taking in a deep breath and for once in her life, she was silent.

Without another word, the two of us entered the university and head towards the dormitory, which would be our home for the next four years. As we walked through hallways and passed by other people, we would receive stares from here and there.

"Is it just me or are people looking at us?" I whispered to Ino, who replied by nodding nonchalantly. Unlike me, she didn't seem disturbed in the slightest. I just had to ask Ino another question to make sure we were on the same page. "Do we look weird or something? This is quite a lot of unwanted attention."

"Calm down, Forehead." I rolled my eyes upon hearing Ino's favorite nickname for me. "They are staring because we're smoking hot."

"Your confidence is disturbing." It was a casual response from Ino but after knowing her for so long, I knew that she was being serious.

Even though Ino and I didn't come from a big city like Tokyo, we weren't out of touch from the world of fashion and style. We knew what was in and what was out and we knew how to take care of ourselves. I still felt that the phrase 'smoking hot' was quite an exaggeration though.

Luck must be on mine and Ino's sides because we turned out to be living in the same dormitory. We lived in different floors though but at least we weren't that far from each other.

We pulled our luggage towards our respective rooms and agreed to meet up at the lobby in fifteen minutes. I wanted to visit the medical school and Ino was planning on touring the art school she enrolled in.

Upon arriving at the ninth floor where her room was, Sakura was already beginning to love her dormitory. Not only was it pretty close to the medical school, it was well furnished and the whole place looked absolutely stunning. The floor was carpeted in red and the walls were in a classy shade of beige. There was a room in front of the lifts where there was a kitchen and also a living room for people to hang out.

And things just got better when I entered the room. Not only was I having a whole room to myself, it was a beautiful one as well. It was not a very large room but it was spacious enough. There was a bed in front of the window at the far end with a desk and wardrobe on respective sides. There was a door beside the wardrobe which I assumed was to the bathroom. There was also a shelf for books and other stuffs on top of the desk.

The wooden floors had the perfect warmth against my skin but it was mainly due to the summer heat. I made a mental note to get a pair of room slippers to prepare for the freezing winter.

I placed my luggage in front of the wardrobe before falling onto the bed, which felt as soft and comfortable as it looked. Despite the temptation, I got off the bed before I would really fall asleep.

I looked at myself in front of the mirror attached inside of the wardrobe to see if I was at least presentable. I brush off the dust on my white skirt and adjusted the sleeveless light pink top I tucked into it. Wanting to appear more formal, I opened my luggage and took out a white lacey outerwear and put it on.

After reassuring myself that I looked decent, I took my cream handbag and walked towards the room.

The first thing I saw when I opened the door of my room was the back of a tall and masculine man. He must be the one living in the room in front of me because he looked like he just came out from there and was about to leave.

He had raven hair which was way too familiar. He reminded me of someone but I just couldn't comprehend it. I stared at the man in front of me as I closed the door behind me.

And the moment that man turned around, my breath was completely taken away from me as I stared with wide eyes. It felt like time had stopped when I caught sight of a pair of onyx eyes I would never forget.

Because right then, I was looking straight at the person I had been missing for the past ten years.

I was staring into the eyes of my best friend from my childhood whom had vanished from my life.

I was finally meeting Sasuke Uchiha after all this time.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

" _Sakura?"_

I stared at the woman in front of me in disbelief as memories came rushing through my mind.

It was that exact unique pink hair from the past, the same delicate skin that appears to be glowing and the identical deep green eyes.

It was Sakura, whom I had not seen in ten years, standing right in front of me.

"Is that you, Sasuke?" Her voice was just like how I remembered it to be but less high pitched. She blinked her eyes again and again and I sensed both doubt and shock from her.

I was at a loss and didn't know what to do or say. I was always composed and calm but I was definitely not expecting to be meeting Sakura again. It had been way too long and I remembered it was I who cut the ties between us.

I wasn't like I wanted that to happen.

The first two years in Tokyo were great and adapting to my new life was almost a breeze. I wasn't exactly the friendly type but I met people whom I considered to be my friends. They could be annoying, loud and frustrating at times but at least I knew they were real. I saw too many fake people out there and was getting really sick about it.

My parents' business was doing exceptionally well and it only took a mere two years for them to transform from a start up into a bigger corporation. Moreover, Itachi and I were doing very good at school and was both the top of the class.

But things changed drastically after those smooth sailing two years and it left countless permanent scars on me.

My parents died in a car crash when they were on their way home from a business trip. Even though eight years had passed, the pain I felt that day was still in my heart. Things just got worse from then onwards.

Itachi and I have to move to a relative's house because in the face of law, both of us were too young to be living alone. That was why Sakura's letters never reached me anymore afterwards. With everything that was going on, I just completely stopped contacting her.

The company went down the drain ever since my parents passed away and it was all that man's fault. According to my father's will, which he made around a year before the fatal accident, the company belonged to Itachi and me equally.

However, we were lawfully not allowed to run the company because of our age and the greedy relative we were sent to live with saw it as an opportunity to take control of the company. He was selfish and made living felt like hell for my brother and I. The only reason he took us in was to be able to become the CEO of the company in the first place.

He pocketed a huge sum of money from the company for his personal use and was even engaged in illegal businesses. And in the three years of living with him, I lost count of the number of times he starved Itachi and I. The only reason he still allowed us to go to school was to show the public that he was treating us 'nice'.

My brother and I were young, scared and had nobody to depend on. We once escaped and went to the police but it only made everything worse. His acting was so flawless that even the police believed my brother and I were just being rebellious.

When we were sick of being so afraid, we decided to take matters into our own hands. After three years of living in hell and Itachi had turned eighteen, he could finally take control of our parents' business and kick that monster out of it.

Of course, he didn't make things easy for us. But for the past years, Itachi and I had been secretly collecting evidences of him being involved in illegal businesses and also of him stealing money from the company. With some luck and a capable lawyer, Itachi and I won the case and that relative of ours was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Apparently, his crimes were more severe than we thought. Not that we felt sorry for him in the least.

Finally, Itachi and I could move out and live on our own. Because he had to lead the company from then onwards, Itachi stepped right into the work field without ever attending university first. It was a pity but it was the right thing to do at that time. And the company continued to prosper under Itachi's lead and I wasn't surprised at all.

All those rough years had shaped me into who I was after ten years since I left that peaceful town. To have seen so much greed and evil had made me forgotten what it was like to be an innocent child, who believed in the good of the world.

And losing my parents made a hole in my heart which almost had no chances to be healed.

But after all those years, meeting Sakura had triggered something inside me. An emotion which felt so foreign that I wasn't sure what it was anymore.

But one thing was for sure.

It felt warm.

"I never thought I'll meet you here, Sakura." I didn't know why I felt so lost. Loss of words, loss of what to do. The answer should have been plainly obvious for me.

The two of us were best of friends when we were kids who were unfortunately separated. And now that we were reunited by fate, wasn't the most natural thing to do was to go back to how we used to be like before?

So, why couldn't I bring myself to do so? There was a heavy feeling inside me which made me build walls around myself.

I stared at Sakura who was looking at me blankly and was clearly at loss as well. For someone who could easily be read in the past, I couldn't seem to guess what she was thinking of at that moment. I saw pain, anger but happiness in her green eyes all at the same time.

What she did next completely caught me off guard.

She rushed towards me and pulled me into a hug which sent warmth throughout my body. Her small hands gripped onto the back of my shirt and she laid her head on my chest.

All I could do was standing there without a clue as to what to do.

"I've missed you so much, Sasuke."

Ten years had passed but it felt like Sakura had not changed a bit. But it wasn't the same anymore.

I changed.

Because I could no longer bring myself to feel things that could one day bring back the pain that was still haunting me endlessly.

I was scared to care for others all over again.

I grabbed onto Sakura's shoulders and pushed her away. With my hands still on her, I stared into her teary eyes which reflected pure confusion.

The emptiness inside me consumed me more than usual and it was killing me.

Sakura's reappearance in my life was killing me and I didn't even know why. Perhaps looking at her reminded me of the good old days back in the quiet town when my parents were still alive. Maybe her presence reminded how nice it was to love and to be loved as I lived live all too innocently.

I guessed Sakura just reminded me of how cruel life turned out to be at the end and the last bit of emotions I had inside of me were vanishing in pain.

"We can't be friends anymore." My words were cold, straightforward and too painful. The lost girl in front of me widened her eyes in shock and was clearly hoping she had heard me wrong.

"What do you mean, Sasuke?"

It was painful to listen to her hurt voice. It was painful to realize that feelings were surfacing once again. Because more pains would come as you invest your feelings and care for another person.

"I mean what I just said. It's as simple as that."

" _Because you remind me of how happy I was before, Sakura. And it is far too painful to be reminded of it."_

"I don't understand, Sasuke."

"There's nothing for you to understand, Sakura. We had gone separate ways ten years ago and are living different lives now. Things are not the same as before."

" _Too much have happened in the past ten years and all I wished was to go back in time and never left the beautiful town we grew up in."_

Tears silently fell onto her cheeks as she stared at me, eyes full of pain and questions. But I remained stoic and unaffected and it was all for the best.

"I thought we are best friends, Sasuke. I don't understand!"

"We were but not anymore."

" _You are still the best friend I have ever had but I can no longer remember how to bravely feel anymore."_

"But why? I have never stopped thinking about you and I have been missing you all this time!"

"Enough, Sakura. You're becoming an annoying woman."

" _Somewhere among the broken pieces inside me, I know I have been missing you too."_

"Sasu-"

"Goodbye, Haruno."

" _I'm sorry, Sakura"_

Knowing that seeing Sakura would be unbearable, I walked away and never looked back.

But it didn't stop the jumbled up strange emotions and evident fears lurking somewhere inside of me.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

"I don't understand."

I whispered to myself as I stared at the door of Sasuke's room with a blurry vision due to the tears falling uncontrollably from my damp eyes.

I was still angry at him for suddenly stopping sending letters to me. I was still upset he just disappeared from my life. But over all of those, I was beyond happy to finally see him again after so long.

But he had pushed me away and officially severed all ties with me.

And I was left alone, confused and broken.

"I just don't understand." I continued whispering to myself in disbelief and I let myself fall to the floor when my energy was completely drained.

But before I hit the floor, I felt someone supporting me and prevented me from hurting myself.

"Are you alright, Forehead?!" I didn't have to see to know who it was. "You were almost thirty minutes late so I decided to check on you. What happened?!"

I couldn't bring myself to speak and felt so tired all of a sudden. I leaned against Ino's shoulder as the last tear dropped down onto my cheek.

Ino, despite not knowing what exactly was going on, supported me back into my room and led me to the bed. Once both of us settled down, I sighed deeply as the shock began fading away.

Then I told Ino the story from the very beginning.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

"The girl you're madly in love with lives right in front of you, Teme?!"

"What the hell are you talking about, Dope? When in the world have you ever heard me mention anything about 'love'?"

Naruto rolled his eyes which had effortlessly pissed me off. Much to my annoyance, I just had to bump into Naruto on my way out of the dormitory. All I wanted was some peace and quiet after my encounter with Sakura and what I got was the complete opposite.

Naruto was the first friend I had when I just moved to Tokyo. It was definitely a highly unexpected friendship. The blonde was loud, stupid and reckless, which were all traits I despised. But then again, he continued sticking with me even during my lowest points.

And he was always there when life was way too difficult to handle.

That didn't change the fact that Naruto Uzumaki was an annoying dope though.

Because despite his lack of intelligence, he had somehow noticed that something was wrong with me. And, like usual, he used his own very annoying ways to make me blurt it all out.

And I did and it made me mad. Not that Naruto cared, of course.

"If you don't have feelings for her, why would you keep a picture of the two of you inside your drawer back at home?"

"I don't." I responded faster than intended, making it sounded like I was denying the truth.

Because I was indeed doing so.

"Right, it's no longer in your drawing back at home because you most probably brought it along with you. So that precious picture of yours is probably somewhere inside your room back in the dormitory." For once, Naruto Uzumaki was sounding smart and it happened at the worst possible time.

"Shut up, Dope." I walked away towards the business school, where I would be studying along with Naruto and some of my other friends, and tried to forget everything that had happened in the past hour.

Of course, it was futile because Naruto just wouldn't stop talking.

"Look, Teme. I understand why you're acting like such a jerk." I glared towards the blonde who was clearly seeking for death for what he said. But he simply continued talking and completely ignored the murderous stare I was giving him. "But it's so selfish of you to do what you did. I mean, the girl clearly missed you like mad and you pushed her away! I bet she's like so hurt right now."

Something within me ached upon hearing Naruto saying that Sakura was in pain and it was all because of me. I stopped in my tracks to ponder about it for a bit, before deciding it was best for things to stay that way.

I continued walking without bothering to respond to Naruto, much to his annoyance.

"Stop ignoring me, you selfish Teme! And you should definitely stop acting like a coward!"

I was indeed acting like a coward and there was a part of me that wished I could have been braver for Sakura's sake.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

"Listen, Forehead. I don't know who this jerk is but I feel like I know him personally because you talk about him all the bloody time." I gave Ino a glare to which she ignored and continued speaking. "But from what I hear from you, he was nothing like how he acted earlier. I have a feeling something horrible must have happened for him to be like how he is now."

When I had finally calmed down and had the right state of mind to listen to Ino, I realized one big question I failed to see earlier.

What exactly happened to Sasuke in the past ten years?

"Instead of crying like so pathetically, you should go out there and do something. The stupid Forehead I know doesn't give up easily, you know." From the outside, Ino seemed like she was insulting me but in my eyes, it was just her special way of cheering me up.

I grabbed onto Ino's arm, which made her yelp in surprise, and giggled a little. Having Ino around could be frustrating at times but she had always been there for me through ups and downs.

"Thank you, Pig."

"Whatever, Forehead. I don't want to see you looking so useless and weak again, alright?"

I let go of Ino's arm and stood up in front of her. With hands on both sides of my hips and a wide grin on my face, I assured Ino that I was going to sort things out with Sasuke.

"Mark my words, Ino. I am not planning to give up on my friendship with Sasuke!"

Ino smirked a little before giving a remark which caught me off guards, "Just friendship, Forehead? If you say so."

I felt my face heat up when I realized the meaning behind Ino's words and look. I shot her an angry glare, which wasn't intimidating at all at that time, and began blabbering nonsense.

"I know what you're thinking, Pig! Sasuke might have grown into a hot man with a super toned chest and muscular arms but it doesn't mean I will fall in love with him! And the fact that his jaws are so bloody defined and his hair looks way too soft won't make it happen too!"

"Okay, okay, calm down, woman." Ino raised her hands up in the air to stop me from my nonsensical rampage. She looked amused though, which only fueled my annoyance. "Whatever you say, Forehead."

"I mean what I say, Pig."

I mean, I wouldn't exactly fall in love with a man who just cut all ties with me, right?

Because just thinking of that made my heart ached in pain and sadness.

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you for reading, everyone! Remember to review, follow, favorite and all those good stuffs. Reviews make this writer super happy and I am always glad to read the opinions and suggestions of my dear readers. Please look forward to the next chapter and have a nice day!


	2. Worth Fighting For

Author's Note: First of all, thank you so much for the positive reviews! The encouragements are very much appreciated! Of course, I would like to thank all the followers and all readers who had listed this story as one of their favorites. I will try my best to bring out the best story for everyone. Enjoy chapter 2!

Chapter 2: Worth Fighting For

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

" _If I am giving up already, I'll never forgive myself."_

Knowing much too well that crying my eyes out wouldn't help me at all, I stopped doing so and started thinking of a way to fix things. Once I managed to convince Ino that I was alright, she left the room and head over to her department. Even though I had missed the departmental tour, I was still in time for the orientation programme held by the medical school.

I left my room a few moments afterwards and was lost in my own thoughts as I walked through the corridor of the dormitory. I was trying to think of reasons as to why Sasuke had changed and why he wanted to end our friendship.

But I just couldn't wrap my mind around the entire situation. Nothing made sense and it was pissing me off.

I didn't even know how I ended up in the building of my department until I accidentally bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry!" I was finally snapped out of my messed up thoughts and apologized immediately. When I looked upwards, I met the most beautiful pair of white eyes I had ever seen. The man was so beautiful that he looked as if he came out straight from a fairytale story.

I was about to apologize again because he looked mad but he spoke first.

"No worries." With that said, he bowed a little before walking away.

I stood there and was slightly surprised as I watched the gentleman heading towards to another man whom I assumed was his friend.

Was it even possible for a man to be that beautiful?

My attention left the pretty boy when the voice of a woman was heard through a megaphone.

"Welcome to medical school, freshmen! I hope everyone is doing fine so far." I turned to my right and saw a woman with short brown hair onto a red and white megaphone. She was radiating so much energy and excitement that it was affecting me as well. I was not very sure why she had a pig with her though but I didn't give many thoughts to that.

"My name is Shizune and I am one of the professors who will be teaching you throughout your university life here. I am also the main coordinator of the medical school orientation programme! It's going to be a two days programme and it's going to be a whole lot of fun, I promise. Before I give everyone further instructions, please come over to this board beside me and see which group you're in. There's a picture beside the names of your teammates so don't worry if you don't know who they are. I want everyone to go to their respective groups within the next five minutes!"

I followed the group and headed over to the board beside Shizune, where a large piece of paper was pasted onto it. I tiptoed and tried to search for my name, all the while hating myself for my not so impressive height.

" _Let's see. Found my name! I'm in group six. And my teammates are Neji Hyuuga and Shikamaru Nara."_ When I caught a glimpse of the picture beside one of my teammates, I was surprised all over again. _"Hang on, isn't that the pretty boy I bumped into earlier?!"_

"Hey." The voice of that pretty boy I had just referred to made me jump a little before I turned around to see that my teammates had found me. I wasn't sure if I should feel lucky that I got myself two gorgeous men as my teammates or I should feel sorry for myself because they were honestly quite intimidating.

Not that I was scared but of course it had always been easier to talk to friendly looking people.

"Lucky for us, our teammate has pink hair. Not troublesome at all to find her." The other man with a ponytail shaped like a pineapple yawned as he casually commented on my pink hair. At least he found my pink hair unique in a positive way.

"I'm Neji Hyuuga and this sorry excuse of a human being beside me is Shikamaru Nara." The white eyed beauty reached out his hand for a handshake, which I took as I introduced myself with a smile.

"I'm Sakura Haruno. It's a pleasure to meet the two of you." I shook the hand of Shikamaru as well as he introduced himself properly.

"Like the demon here said, I'm Shikamaru Nara." Neji shot a glare towards Shikamaru, who simply ignored it completely.

I laughed at the interaction between the two of them as I watched the ongoing silent battle, "I assume the two of you knew each other beforehand already?"

"Unfortunately, yes. We are classmates since primary school and it truly saddens me to have to go through medical school with him. I'm even so unlucky to the point that I'm in the same team as him in this orientation programme." Neji replied with an exaggerated sigh in which I couldn't help but laugh in a less graceful way. It didn't matter though cause neither of the guys minded and they continued their little war.

"Don't be so troublesome, Hyuuga. You're the one who decided to join me here." Shikamaru looked like he wanted nothing more than to escape from what he saw was a pointless argument. But somehow, the whole situation just showed me how close they were to each other.

"Listen, Nara. **You're** the one who followed me." The amusing glaring competition between the two of them had to come to an end when Shizune's voice was heard through the megaphone once again.

"I hope everyone is already in their respective teams by now. We can now begin the first orientation game!" I secretly stole glances at my teammates and figured they weren't exactly the type to get excited over games such as these. But then again, something told me they hated to lose.

Shizune's assistant went around and passed an envelope to each team. Neji inspected the envelope for a second before opening it as Shizune gave further instruction.

"Each team is given a different set of tasks to be completed. You need to come back here once you have completed all three tasks given to you. The first team to come back here wins! Without further ado, let the game begin! Oh, don't forget to take a picture as proof that you have completed the task."

Once Shizune finished giving the instructions, Neji read out the first task for us, "Head over to the Physical Education department, locate the Kendo club and play one round of Kendo with one of the students there."

"Neji knows Kendo so let's leave it to him." Shikamaru stated as he began walking away while muttering something about wanting to finish the troublesome game as soon as possible.

Neji didn't respond to Shikamaru and simply followed him. I assumed they knew where the Physical Education department was so I followed their lead.

Halfway through our walk, I felt like I was being stared at and my instinct made me looked to my left. For the second time, I met with Neji's much too beautiful white eyes and was startled once again.

"What's wrong?" I became insecure all of a sudden and my face was starting to blush for reasons I wasn't sure of. I was beginning to worry that there was something on my face or if I was making embarrassing expressions.

"Sorry for staring. But you look really familiar." Neji looked like he was thinking very hard and his words made Shikamaru turn around.

With his hands buried deep in his pockets, Shikamaru had a thoughtful look on his face for once before speaking, "Now that Neji mentioned it, you do look very familiar."

"Is that so?" I was beginning to get confused because I was very sure I had never met any of them. I mean, if I ever laid eyes on handsome men like them, I doubted I would forget them that easily. "Maybe I look like someone you guys know"

"I doubt so. It's not every day you'll meet someone with pink hair." Shikamaru casually commented on my unique hair color again and Neji nodded a little to signify his agreement to Shikamaru's statement.

The conversation died down when neither Neji nor Shikamaru could come up with a reason as to why I appeared so familiar to then. And as for me, I was left rather confused by two guys I began considering as my friends.

* * *

 **Sasuke's POV**

"Why can't we just leave, Dope?" I glared at the blonde in front of me who had just grinned creepily at a girl who just passed by. Needless to say, the girl had the same thought as me because she threw a dirty look at Naruto before walking away.

That was something Naruto was used to anyway so he wouldn't exactly put much thought into it. He turned his head towards me and narrowed his eyes, "We're just here for less an hour, Teme. Classes will start soon and it doesn't hurt to get to know more about our own department. It's embarrassing to get lost on your first day!"

I narrowed my eyes as well, obviously still annoyed at the fact that Naruto had ruined my plans of being in peace and serenity, "I didn't know you're capable of feeling embarrassed." It was pretty obvious that Naruto had been walking around the school of business rather aimlessly in hopes of finding some girls. And things had definitely not been going well for the blonde.

"I would've kicked your ass but I feel sorry for you because I know you're feeling down right now." Naruto faked a pained expression which disgusted me even more.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I picked up my pace and continued walking around our department. It was a huge place but it wasn't hard to navigate it at all. I just couldn't see the point of sticking around any longer.

"Don't play dumb with me! I can read you like a book." Naruto increased his speed to catch up with me, obviously not done with our conversation from earlier on. Seriously, when would he ever learn to shut up?

"You're obviously still thinking about the girl. It's all over that stupid face of yours." I completely ignored Naruto's insult and continued walking in silence. "If you're going to continue ignoring me, I'm going to make Neji and Shikamaru do the talking."

Listening to a nagging Naruto was equivalent to living through hell's fires. If those two bastards were added into the picture, I should just forget about living in peace and quiet.

"I warn you, Dope. Don't you dare breathe a word to those two." I sent a threatening look towards Naruto, who obviously wasn't intimidated at all.

"Look who's finally talking." Naruto grinned like an idiot which earned an eye roll from me. "Even if I kept my mouth shut, those two geniuses will figure things out soon enough."

And as much as I hated it, Naruto had a point. I became friends with Neji and Shikamaru not long after I knew Naruto. My friendships with those two started with rivalry in the beginning, after I found out that both Neji and Shikamaru had grades dangerously close to mine. And I just hated to lose.

Somehow, the friendships were easily forged through our rivalry.

"Look, ever since you decided to end your friendship with her, which is apparently like not very long ago, you became obviously miserable. So why don't you just be friends with her like before?" Naruto grumbled as we walked passed more classrooms and lecture theaters.

" _I can't bring myself to be reminded of how I was like before."_

I stayed quiet and had somehow managed to block Naruto's loud voice. My decision had hurt Sakura and I was fully aware of that. But I just wasn't ready to take a tiny step back into my old life before all the life-changing events took place.

I was still a coward who was afraid to be reminded of the pain, who was still scared to take a peek of the happier parts of life and miss it all over again.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I caught a glimpse of the very person who had been in my mind for the past moments.

And I simply wasn't ready to meet her again.

* * *

 **Sakura's POV**

The last half an hour had been nothing but hilarious.

Not only was Neji totally embarrassed from losing a Kendo match against a girl named Tenten, he bluntly asked for her number for future 'rematches'. But judging from the apparent blush and awkwardness, he had more than just Kendo in his mind.

My thoughts on that matter was further confirmed by Shikamaru who couldn't stop teasing Neji for his painful-to-the-eyes way of flirting as we walked away from the Physical Education department.

The next task was equally funny as well. One of us had to crack a joke to someone we didn't know in the school of art. I thought it was fate that the first person we caught sight of was Ino.

Neji refused to do it since he was the one who completed the first task and as for me, Ino was far from being a stranger. Hence, despite how troublesome it was for the guy, Shikamaru had to do it.

And that was when it was decided that Shikamaru had zero skills in being a comedian. Ino did laugh, not on the lame joke Shikamaru said, but at how dumb it was.

It ended well in a way because I could sense the attraction Shikamaru and Ino had for each other and it was proven when they actually ended up exchanging numbers. Well, I was glad university started much too great for the Pig.

And then we were down to the last task, which I had to complete.

"So, I need to find a male student from the school of business and flirt with him. Great, wonderful indeed." My sarcasm didn't go unnoticed by Neji and Shikamaru, who chuckled a little as they walked behind me on our little walk around the school of business.

I wasn't putting much thought into the task and was casually scanning the area when I laid my eyes on a certain person who was the very reason for my tears not too long ago.

I stopped dead on my tracks when I made eye contact with Sasuke. My sudden halt surprised Neji and Shikamaru, earning confused grunts from both of them. I stood there, looking at the person I had been missing so much and the same person who had decided to end our friendship with a pathetic excuse.

At that moment, I wanted answers from Sasuke. And at the same time, I wanted to let him know that I wasn't planning to give up on our friendship. I wanted him to understand that I was willing to listen to his reasons for what he did. I was ready to hear what had happened after he left all those years ago.

My mind wandered back to the task from the orientation game and an idea popped up all of a sudden. After taking a deep breath and not bothering to listen to Neji and Shikamaru who were about to say something, I walked towards Sasuke with my head held high.

Once I was close enough to notice the slightly surprised look on Sasuke's face, I placed a hand on my right hip and smiled as charmingly as I could before I spoke.

"Hello there. Just in case you have yet to notice, the mystery lying behind your eyes is enticing. And I wanted nothing more than to get to know you better. Let's be friends, shall we?"

I, Sakura Haruno, wanted to show Sasuke Uchiha that I wasn't planning on giving up this battle without a fight.

Because our friendship was worth fighting for.

* * *

Author's Note: And that's the end of chapter 2! Please leave a review on your way out, dear readers. Feel free to voice out your opinion, thoughts or suggestions for this fanfic. Don't forget to follow or if you love this story so far, do add this onto your list of favorites! Stay tuned for the next chapter and see you next time!


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